The state Board of Regents has selected
as the next president of the University of Utah a leader with international
experience and Utah ties: Michael K. Young, dean of the George Washington
University Law School.

Scott
G. Winterton and Alex Nabaum, Deseret Morning News

"The opportunity to serve in this capacity is truly the opportunity of a
lifetime," Young, 54, said Thursday at a special board meeting. Young will
become the U.'s 14th president this summer.

Young — a descendant of pioneer leader Brigham Young and a graduate of U.
rival BYU — said he hoped to draw on the U.'s strengths, such as its
international potential and technological capabilities, and build strong ties
with the community.

"I think the university wants to work closely with the entire . . .
education community . . . to find ways to anticipate and educate the large
number of kids coming through the system and to improve the quality of education
across the board for everybody, and at the same time to keep focusing on the
research that has really been a hallmark of this institution," Young said.

Regent Jim Jardine said he hopes Young's experience will help in his role of
representing the university on the state, national and international levels.

"We felt generally that Mike would really be able to lead us to new
heights, especially in his ability in the external role," said Jardine, who
chaired the search committee.

Young replaces former U. President Bernie Machen, who left to head the
University of Florida. A 21-member search committee narrowed a national search
of 147 candidates down to three.

The regents voted Thursday without debate to select Young after a day of
closed interviews with the three finalists. Young was competing against Loren W.
Crabtree, University of Tennessee system chancellor and vice president for
academic affairs, and Susan Westerberg Prager, University of California-Los
Angeles, law professor and 16-year UCLA School of Law dean.

Young will take on the post with an annual salary of $295,000, which still
needs official board approval. Young declined to disclose his salary at George
Washington, a private institution, but said he was "delighted" with
the U.'s offer.

Young, who holds degrees in political science and Japanese from BYU, admits
there's some irony in his selection — also noting that BYU's president is a
former Ute.

"I have a brother probably in cardiac arrest down in Springville, but my
passion for the Utes knows no bounds," Young said. "It's an amusing
thing, but a more serious side to it (is) one of the ways great universities
move forward is through collaboration with other great universities."

The new U. president's wife, Suzan, a native of Orem, a BYU graduate and
certified nurse, said she's "excited to be able to represent the U. in this
role."

Young holds a law degree from Harvard University. He is serving a second term
as chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and has
written several articles and books. His resume includes work for the U.S. State
Department and as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H.
Rehnquist.

He said he is a "committed, active member of the LDS Church" and
doesn't see that as a conflict in his new role.

"It's an important part of who I am and why I do what I do," he
said. "At the same time I have spent my entire academic career outside of
Utah. It has never been a problem."

Jardine said Young's religion was not brought up as an issue as the regents
discussed the candidates.

As dean at George Washington's law school, Young oversaw an increase in the
mean GPA and LSAT scores of students and strengthened the profile of the
minority students. He said diversity will be a top priority.

He said of the 183 selective universities, his had the largest number of
African-American law students last year and ranked ninth in the number of
Hispanic graduates.

"Having all sorts of points of view represented in an academic community
is essential to the real success of that academic community," he said.
"The University of Utah is increasingly situated in a community from which
it can draw lots of diverse points of view, and I think it is important that it
do that. It enriches everybody's educational experience."

Colleagues at George Washington say their loss is Utah's gain.

"You guys suck, and you can print that," said Larry Mitchell, a
George Washington University law professor. "The University of Utah is
getting an absolute star," he said.

Sen. Ron Allen, D-Stansbury Park, said it appears the U. has a good person
for a taxing job.

"It's a difficult balance between creating an institution of open and
broad learning in the context of tradition and conservatism in Utah. It will be
a balancing act."

Brigham Young University general counsel Tom Griffiths met Young in
Washington, D.C., about nine years ago. He calls him one of the
"pre-eminent lawyers" in the nation.

"What Mike does so well is bridge gaps and bring people together. He's
just really good at that, at taking a community that might be fractured and
divided in some ways and bringing them (together) to find common ground."